I'm Not Yours

Chapter 11, Winter Wonderland

Steering the boat to the side of the river with the one paddle we still have left was quite a challenge. Everytimw we started to get somewhere the boat would turn a different direction.

"Okay, I'm done with this," Ashley huffed as she stood up. Stripping herself of the ridiculous heels they made us both wear. "We are soaked anyways and the boats almost a pool. The river has calmed down, I'm swimming,"

She jumps in the water and twists to look back at me while slowly back stroking away. I shrug my shoulders and remove my stilettos as well before jumping in after her. No use in worring about the boat as we were just going to send it back into the river anyways. Hopefully the guys will find it further out and th ink we left from a different point along the river.

I hurriedly catch up to her and we make our way to the bank.

"Ughh," I groan as I put my feet down in the river. The mud sliding in between my now bare toes as I wad through the ice water.

"How close do you think they are?" I ask, rubbing my arms as the breeze picks up.

"I don't know and I don't think we want to stick around to find out," She grumbled back.

Reaching the bank we walk out of the river and towards the forest. Our bare feet hitting the sticks and rocks spattered around on the hard ground. Maybe the ditching the heels wasn't our greatest plan.

We keep walking through the night. Not really talking as we try to put as much distance between us and the wolves as possible.

The air is getting colder and for the first time I start to think that maybe staying would have been the better choice. We'll probably freeze to death before we come across any humans.

As I walk I think about who my mate could be. I didn't see his face but there was a weird tingling sensation throughout my body when he called out to me. Almost like something in me wanted to respond to him. Hopefully he's just a regular wolf that can move on without me. Get a different mate and forget that we crossed paths. It's bad enough that we've got the big bad Alpha on our heels for Ashley. It'll be a long chase. Alphas weren't known for letting their mates get away.

Collapsing one the ground in front of my Ashley groans really loud.

"I'm not getting back up," She pats the nice slightly white ground next to her, gesturing for me to join her.

"A break can't hurt," I mutter out. My
exhaustion suddenly hitting me like a ton of bricks. I half sit down and half fall to the ground.

"Do you think they're like the rest of them?" My voice comes out in stutters from the cold.

"I don't know. How else would they be. I mean, he's an Apha for goodness sake. He runs them all. Isn't he the one setting the example," her voice fades.

"Hey," I reach over and grab connect our slightly blue hands.

"If anyone can change him, you could. Plus, if we don't die of frost bite and can make it out, you won't have to worry about him, right?"

She nods her head and scoots closer to me. Mumbling out a right before falling asleep. I try my best to stay awake and watch, but the coldness in my bones and the 48 plus hours of wakeness push me into a sleep.

When I finally peel my eyes open, Ashley and I are covered in about 2 inches of snow. We are going to die out here.

"Ash, Ash," I shove at her sleeping form.

"Come on, wake up!" I'm practically throwing her around like a rag doll now.

No no no no no, she can't be dead. I'd never forgive myself.

Finally she starts moving and mumbling incoherent words.

"Leave me alone, hot beach, hot human guys equals not here," She swats at my arm.

"You can't keep sleeping,"

"Uh, yeah I can. Watch me,"

"Ash! The wolves. Coming for you. Alpha mate. Forever captured. Savagery. Ring a bell?"

"Ughh, stupid mutts. Interrupting my beauty sleep when they're not even here," She rolls over and lays on her back.

"It's so cold,"

"I know," my teeth chatter, "I'm hoping us moving will heat us up. God, I hope we don't die in this stupid woods."

Finally we get up and start walking again. Picking our way through the trees for about 5 minutes before Ashley starts talking again.

"This plan was so brilliant that I think even we forgot to relize that walking on the stupid forest barefooted with paper thin dresses was a terrible idea.  Plus I'm so hungry that I'm thinking about magically wolfing out myself right now and hunting a rabbit," She keeps rambling on.
"In fact, I wish I could wolf out cause then I would be warm and might regain some of my toes,"

"Mmhmm," I hum out in agreement.

"I hope we get to a town or something soon,"

I look up at the trees and sigh. An idea suddenly forming in my head.

"What if we climbed a tree," I say, suddenly getting a little bit more excited.

"Becaaauuse tree climbing is a hobby you missed while being enslaved?"

"No, well yeah, but no. If we find a tall one we may be able to see if there is civilization any where close and which way it is,"

I start walking toward the rees and trying to see which one is tallest. Finding one that looks steady and tall I motion for Ashley to come over.

Jumping up to get to the lowest branch my fingers scrape along the bark and split open.

Grunting, I pull my body up over the tree so I'm in a sitting position. Ripping my dress as I do so. Looking down at her I hold my now bleeding hands up for her to see.

"Yeah, I think I'll stay down here and wait for you," She states while rubbing her hands along her arms to create friction against the cold.

"Okay," I mumble as I start climbing higher.

It takes me about 10 minutes to reach the top. Hanging onto the branch I look around for houses or anything that would indicate some sort of warmth.

My eyes catch a log cabin just a little bit to the left of the direction we were walking.

"Ash!" I start to climb down the tree.

I look down for her and find her wrapped in the arms of a very big, very naked man. His nose is tucked in the crook of her neck.

Ashley looks conflicted, standing unmobile in his arms. Watching him as he curls around her body more.

Next to them is another naked man looking up at me in the tree. My heart speeds up as I make eye contact with him.

It's him.

*****

xoxo~Knight

Stay Beautiful